“Lisa Frankenstein” stars Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino. Released on February 9, 2024, the film is about a teenager reanimating a corpse and forming a relationship with it. The film featured the directorial debut of Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, who directed the short films “Shrimp” and “Kappa Kappa Die”. Valentine’s Day is usually the perfect day to spend quality time with the people you love, whether it’s your romantic partner, sibling, or even your parents. However, some celebrate alone or struggle to find the perfect someone for that particular occasion. In a case like this, if you can’t find the right person, you can just make your own. This young woman has the right idea, but not in the way we expected. We’re kicking off the loveliest week of the year with the romantic-horror-comedy that’s to die for, and I mean that in a literal sense. This film not only puts a modern teen twist on the iconic monster story involving a mad scientist and his undead creature but also has Zelda Williams taking a crack at directing her first feature film. Does it provide the right spark to reinvigorate the rom-com formula, or is this movie better off dead? Let’s find out. The story centers on Lisa Swallows (Newton), a misunderstood teenage goth girl isolated by everyone due to her estranged personality. She’s reeling over her mother’s death, and her father, Dale (Chrest), remarried a nasty woman named Janet (Gugino). After a disastrous night at a party, Lisa visits a cemetery to speak to the grave of a young Victorian man (Sprouse) whom she’s affectionate with. Suddenly, a bolt of green lightning strikes the grave, resulting in the man being reanimated as a lovesick zombie. As Lisa attempts to hide the creature from the public, she gradually grows love-stricken over the reanimated corpse, leading her to shape him into the man of her dreams with bizarre yet bloody consequences. Romantic comedies have a surprising lack of horror elements in their substantial list of content, as far as I can remember. The last time we had something involving horror and romance was “Warm Bodies” a few years ago unless I missed a few in between. So, it was nice to see Hollywood deciding to retake this approach because we could all use a little spark in the tried-and-true love story. Rom-coms are like pieces of chocolate. You know what to expect from the taste, and they could be unhealthy if consumed too many times, but we can’t help but savor them because of how much goodness they bring. But in some cases, it doesn’t hurt to try other refreshing flavors of the same brand. This brings us to “Lisa Frankenstein”, one of the only times I was interested in a romantic comedy. Of course, what better day to watch it than on Valentine’s Day...all by myself? But the real question I should ask is whether the movie is decent enough to watch regardless of the day. After watching it myself, I would say it’s definitely an experience that’s bizarrely affectionate but surprisingly flawed. “Lisa Frankenstein” is one of the movies that attempt to provide intriguing risks to its fundamental rom-com appeal regarding its presentation and story. The movie is supposedly regarded as a callback to the classic horror comedies of the 1980s with a dash of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to boot. So, while the movie has some hints of romance between a goth girl and a mute zombie, it primarily relies on cheesy dark comedy regarding the dialogue and kills. However, what lies underneath its kooky 80s-centered surface is a reflection of depression, mental health, and love, mainly from its main characters. For the former two, Lisa is portrayed as a misunderstood teenager who is isolated and distant from others. She uses her unusual behavior to mask her internal sorrow over the loss of her mother. This often leads people to misconstrue her actions and label her as mentally unstable. For the latter, it centers on “The Creature” searching for companionship in a new environment. On paper, these ideas could make for a uniquely outlandish and even heartfelt addition to the multi-genre trend. However, when put together on the screen, it became a mishmash of different body parts that may not impress everyone due to its execution. That’s not to say that the effort wasn’t there, as “Lisa Frankenstein” offered what’s expected from the marketing. It’s a kooky, darkly humorous love story packed with compelling young talents and a promising directorial style from Zelda Williams. It’s that the movie struggled to balance its ghoulishly dark premise with thought-provoking themes and bold narrative choices to make it stand out from other horror comedies that inspired it. The concept was occasionally fun to witness, which I’ll give it credit for. However, when it slows down to showcase its other elements more often than watching a zombified Cole Sprouse murder people with an axe, its spark surprisingly flickers more than it shines, mainly due to its pacing. To Williams’s credit, though, her narrative approach fits the 80s aesthetics quite nicely regarding the presentation, charm, and humor. But I will also say that she’s got a long way to go to find herself a diamond in the rough. Like Williams’s direction, the screenplay in “Lisa Frankenstein” was surprisingly hit-and-miss for me. The film was the latest to be written by Diablo Cody, best known by horror fans for her work on “Jennifer’s Body”. However, she’s also known for writing the cinematic gems “Juno” and “Tully”. Regarding its approach to its genre elements, “Lisa Frankenstein” is far from a classic like “Juno”, but it had enough solid moments to counteract most of its shortcomings, mainly its humor. It also had a few narrative choices that may not sit well with the audience it’s aiming for, including the ending, which struggled to justify the themes it introduced. I’m pretty sure some people might not mind its conclusion, but I struggle to jive with it. Besides the humor, the other element that brought “Lisa Frankenstein” to life was its cast, especially the two leads. Kathryn Newton continues her superb winning streak with another entertaining performance. This time, she honed her skills to portray Lisa’s offbeat and misunderstood persona that’s as amusingly strange as the movie’s tone. Cole Sprouse had a task of manifesting muted acting regarding his role of “The Creature”, in which he expresses his personality and emotion through actions instead of words. The result was another impressive accomplishment from the former Disney star/Sprouse twin, which had him utilizing these techniques to convey the essence of the Victorian zombie with subtlety and nuance. Liza Soberano was also decent as Taffy, Lisa’s kind step-sister, and Carla Gugino did well in making me want to punch Janet in the face regarding her performance. Overall, “Lisa Frankenstein” puts a suitable jolt into its romantic-horror-comedy vibes but lacks a bright enough spark to maintain its life throughout its runtime. While it’s admirable in combining its gothically uncanny concept with its themes and 80s aesthetics, it doesn’t offer anything else in between those elements to justify this balance. Despite being restricted by its teen rating, its cast, presentation, and dark humor are enjoyable enough to warrant a rewatch. Unfortunately, Diablo Cody’s average screenplay and pacing prevented it from being a surprise hit worth reanimating. If you like the two main leads and want something unique and kooky in the tried-and-true love story, the movie's worth watching on a streaming service. Would I also call it a date night movie? Well, it’ll likely depend on whether your partner is into goths and a lovesick zombie with an axe. C+
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